The Parking Lot Movie

I spent part of today watching a new documentary I had heard about recently.  If you haven't seen it, make some time to watch 'The Parking Lot Movie'.  Visit www.TheParkingLotMovie.com .  If you subscribe to Netflix www.Netflix.com you can get it streamed to your TV or computer.  As their website suggests...'It's about humanity'.  Anyone who has ever dealt with a parking lot (who hasn't) can find a way to relate to this smart film.  As the film suggests, 'What if Rosa Parks had a Car?'.  By the way...I'm told that I park poorly!



Danbury, CT is 'Hat City'? Maybe...London?

I was struggling with a topic for today.  I knew that the Royal Wedding would be all over the blogging world and wanted to write about such a historic event but making it topical for my little corner of the world was proving difficult.  Many of you know that I live in Danbury, CT which was one of the major hat manufacturing cities in the U.S. in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  Danbury is 'Hat City'.  Danbury High School is the 'Home of the Hatters'!  Visit http://www.danburymuseum.org/ for information on the hatting industry in Danbury and anything else you ever wanted to know about this city that has it's namesake in England!

As I was watching the wedding today it became quite clear that the hat industry is alive and well in England!  The milliners across the pond do an incredible job of creating works of art for women.  I believe the only American similarity would be the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs during the month of May.  I found some videos of hats worn today that made me wonder...'What was she thinking?'  Enjoy.  Just remember, as American women we take the 'Christmas Sweater' to an extreme not enjoyed by other countries as much as ours!



Preserving the Past...is Priceless!!

As our attention is turned to the weather related tragedies occurring in our Southern and Midwest states I felt this would be an appropriate blog entry for today.

Over the next few weeks as this blog evolves into what I dream it will be there will be a special page of historic black and white photos from the 1930's and 1940's.  Most of these are from Southeastern Connecticut and include some incredible shots of New London, CT during the 1938 hurricane.  I came to possess these from a dear friend who was an adoptive grandmother to me.  She passed away over 18 years ago and I have many of her photos and some precious negatives.  Recently, I found an envelope with over 30 negatives from 1938 marked simply "hurricane" and "ice storm".  I waited until I knew that I could locate a photo studio that would treat the development of these negatives with great care.  After a little local research, I was referred to Connecticut Photographics (http://www.ctphoto.com/) located in Danbury.  They specialize in all sorts of black and white film processing.  I was advised to begin by having the negatives developed onto 'contact' sheets to see what was there and then if there were photos of any value (historic or otherwise) then I could proceed with having prints developed.

I received a phone call yesterday saying that the contact sheets were ready to be picked up and retrieved them this morning.  It cost $56.00 to have the sheets made but I don't regret spending that money at all!  Now a monumental task begins.  These have to be documented along with all the other photos and shared in a responsible way.  These are historically significant and shed light on our past in a way we don't think about anymore.  Sometimes things really are 'black and white'!  In the video below I was shocked to find that I possess several stills included in this film!  Like my title states - Priceless.

The Ice Cream Truck is Back!!

Nothing signifies the advent of warm weather and all that goes with it than the arrival in our neighborhood of the ice cream truck!  We are past the days when our boys would hear the music from the truck and come running into the house screaming for me...well, not really for me - they wanted money.  Wait a minute - they still want money!  More about that later.

We have always lived in a congested residential area in a townhouse complex. Our sons grew up playing spud and foursquare in the parking lot and terrorizing our neighbors while playing 'manhunt' at dusk on     the complex grounds. They rode their bikes on city streets, climbed trees (read - broke limbs...the trees and on occasion their own) and built forts. They loved where they lived and having lots of neighborhood kids to play with. And me - I spent a lot of time with the other moms sitting on front stoops. It was heaven.

The arrival of the ice cream truck was a nightly occurence. The kids would all scatter from whatever game they were playing to run home in search of ice cream money. They got to know the drivers of these trucks by name and had their favorites. Often, two different trucks would arrive each night. There was a 'regular' or Good Humor ice cream truck and then there was the 'Mister Softee' truck. Once money was procured (I had a special stash) these unruly children would line up so politely and quietly to wait for their turn while reading about all the tantalizing options they had on the side of the truck! If it was anywhere near dinner our kids were forced to put their purchases in the freezer until after they had eaten. Apparently that made me the 'mean mom' - too bad.


The boys are big now but that is still one of their favorite memories and had we moved out of the city where we make our home to purchase a big house, I don't believe it would be part of our story.

Enjoy the vintage TV 'commercial' about the Good Humor Ice Cream trucks!

My 'Vera Bradley' Fix

Yesterday afternoon I made a trip into Bethel to perhaps my favorite little store in the area, The Gift Cottage.  This store sells a very large selection of Vera Bradley items in addition to Crabtree and Evelyn and Chamilia and Troll beads.  Their store resembles a small 'tea house' or English cottage you'd stumble upon in the country.  Visit their website at http://www.giftcottagebethel.com/ to see all of the unique items they have!  My purpose yesterday afternoon was to find a pair of sunglasses and see if they had any purses or other items on sale.  I was not disappointed.  I found a cute headband for a gift in the 'buttercup' pattern and a clutch that was on sale 50% off! 

I'm not quite sure when I first decided that Vera Bradley was becoming part of my 'style' but I knew I wasn't the only one when we attended a college orientation for our oldest son and just about every woman there had a Vera Bradley bag.  You can tell by looking at the pattern how old the bag is (if you're a real fan) and if she has ever washed it.  Part of their claim to fame is that these purses can be washed...I'm not that brave.  Oh, and remember, I have issues with the laundry!  My friends and I can tell an awful lot about a woman just by looking at the pattern she chooses or in the case of a gift her friends and family have picked out for her.  I currently carry a tote bag in 'purple punch' and a purse in 'bali blue'.  And in the Vera world you have to know the 'name' of your purse.  I'm not that crazy.  Here's a video about a Vera Bradley plant in Indiana where many of the products come from.  Or, if you would rather just shop...go to http://www.verabradley.com/  I'll see you there!

SOCKS - The Great Equalizer!

I knew the day was coming but didn't want to face the inevitable.  My husband's sock drawer was getting dangerously close to empty!  I'll do any amount of laundry before washing the socks.  And the truth is that we have it so much easier than women in the past and yet we still complain.  While I realize that there are some brave men out there that venture into the world of laundry (and it's a scary world), the reality is that the laundry will fall to whatever female is attached to the person with the socks.


So yesterday I washed and dried the socks and today I matched them and put them away.  It's that horrible for me.  It's my understanding that years ago people would wear their clothes for many days before washing them because laundry was such a chore.  There is some merit to that thought process!  At this moment the sock drama is over except for the mysterious basket of 'leftover' socks that have no match.  Here's a fun music video about those 'odd socks'!  You can also visit http://www.marthastewart.com/ and search 'socks' for hundreds (I'm so not kidding) of ideas about what to do with all your leftover socks!

Does anyone remember that today is Earth Day?

I was shocked to find out that today is Earth Day. Years ago I would have anticipated participating in Earth Day activities along with my friends. The first Earth Day occurred on April 22, 1970. I remember because it was a big deal. My friends and I looked forward to Earth Day and all the activities that surrounded it.  I know that for all of my school years I took part in it in some form. It seems that we've grown complacent about some of the issues that affect us all. I found some simple facts about recycling and thought I might share them here. It doesn't hurt to be reminded that one person can make a difference!  Check out http://www.earthday.org/ for more information.

By the way, the price for gas in Danbury, CT is currently at $4.05 and that's the least expensive price per gallon in the city!

•By simply recycling one aluminum can, you are saving enough energy to watch a TV for three hours. Recycling one glass bottle is enough to light a traditional light bulb for four hours.



•We use more than 80 billion aluminum soda cans every year. It takes 90 percent less energy to recycle aluminum cans than to make new ones.


•Recycling every newspaper would save about 250 million trees each year. Unfortunately, only 27 percent of all American newspapers are recycled.


•The average individual throws away approximately four pounds of garbage every day and uses about 12,000 gallons of water every year.


•The average car burns an average of two gallons of fuel a day. Each of those gallons releases 20 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air.


•It takes plastic and aluminum cans 500 years to break down, and organic materials, cotton, rags and paper only 6 months to break down.


•Most families throw away about 88 pounds of plastic every year.


•We throw away billions of dead batteries away every year. This makes up 88 percent of the mercury and 54 percent of the cadmium deposited into landfills.


•Recycled paper uses 64 percent less energy than making paper from virgin wood pulp and can save many trees. Every ton of recycled paper saves 17 trees.


•Approximately 1-billion-trees worth of paper is thrown away every year in the U.S.


•Half a million trees must be cut down to produce each week's Sunday newspapers.


•Every year, 14 billion pounds of trash is dumped into the oceans. Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1 million sea creatures every year.


•The amount of wood and paper thrown away annually is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years.


•We use seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees. This amounts to about 2 billion trees per year!


•Nearly 80 million Hershey's Kisses are wrapped each day. That's enough recyclable aluminum foil to cover more than 50 acres of space or 40 football fields.


•Every year, Americans discards 16 million diapers, 1.6 billion pens, 2 billion razor blades, 220 million car tires, and enough aluminum to rebuild the U.S. commercial air fleet four times over.

An Afternoon with Jane Eyre

I'm ashamed to say it but I've never read many of the classics.  It's one of the things that I want desperately to do.  However, until time is on my side, I decided to spend the day with a 'classic' movie.  The 1944 version of 'Jane Eyre' starring Orson Wells and Joan Fontaine was my guilty pleasure today.  My 17 year old son helped me hook up our Wii game system (don't worry he's got his PS3 in the family room) to our living room TV so I could watch movies streamed directly to our television with no need for a dvd or Blockbuster.  As an aside, Blockbuster in Danbury is going out of business!

I wish that I could say I was too intellectual for TV or movies...but I'm not.  The movie was amazing and they truly don't make them like that anymore.  I'm hooked.  I can't wait to watch other classic movies and transport myself away to another time and place.  Books do that for me too but that's another story.  I'm currently watching the BBC 'Jane Eyre' series.  The new 'Jane Eyre' movie is playing in town and I want to be able to see it with just a little more knowledge than I have now.  The book will be next on my reading list!

For those of you interested, Netflix is an amazing deal.  For 7.99 per month you can watch as much as you want through your computer or TV.  If you use a TV all you need is one of the game systems or a Tivo console.  If you have teenage boys, coming up with a game system isn't that difficult!  In addition, you can receive one actual dvd at a time.  It's no wonder that Blockbuster and other movie rental stores are on the way out!

Why I Attended a Board of Education Meeting

I've lived in Danbury for almost 23 years and in Connecticut for my whole life.  I consider Danbury home now and it certainly has been home to my grown boys.  Both boys were educated here.  Some of those years they spent in a private parochial school and most in our public school system.  This school system is no different than most across the country right now...they need money and lots of it.  Because there had been some local publicity about our economic problems regarding the financing of the next school year, I decided that it was time I attended a board meeting.  Every parent in the district received an automated phone call urging them to attend this meeting which would be held in a middle school auditorium to accommodate the 'crowd'.  Danbury has a population of approximately 70,000 people and our total school population is about 10,300.  I don't know why I was expecting more but only 250 or so showed up (including children)! 

Our district like so many others is in dire financial straits and is in a position where drastic cuts will have to be made.  After honoring math teams, local Scouts and retiring teachers the Board members got to the business of describing in detail where the 'bleeding' was occurring.  Money is running dry across the state and we are certainly not the only city affected.  They said that they will be forced to cut many middle school special programs including French, Tech. Ed. and will reduce guidance staff, support staff and teaching staff.  One big shocker that evening was that full day Kindergarten will disappear!  Young parents will be scrambling for daycare this summer! Our textbook budget will be cut again.  While many spoke to the Board that evening (for exactly 3 minutes before being cut off) I was most intrigued by the brave students that had the nerve to stand before this rather intimidating group of decision makers and speak from the heart without a written statement. 

The meeting ran long - it was almost 3 hours before they went into executive session and the public had to leave but many of us did stay to the bitter end.  I stayed because I felt a strong need to bear witness to what one board member described as the 'deconstruction' of this district.  He described how he had originally run for office as a board member to help build the Danbury district up and how now he was faced with the absolute truth that it was being torn apart bit by bit and that he was now party to that. 

I work in this district as a substitute teacher.  I'm not officially a school district employee because of my 'per diem' status but I am paid by the City of Danbury.  Cuts will have to be made but I've seen discussions like this happen before and I believe they will find a way to move some money around and creatively rearrange services already provided.  In the end it's the children of Danbury that will notice the changes next year.

We have to look at funding education differently.  I just watched the documentary, 'Waiting for Superman' and had my eyes opened.  We need to put everything on the table and that does include teacher tenure.  I believe that it's good to hear footsteps behind you...it makes you work harder.  We're asking our children to work harder each year to bring test scores to our districts that are responsible for state and federal money to keep flowing to our cities.  There is no easy or quick fix.  Some states have separate school taxes levied by each school district and then voted on by the taxpayers.  Could that be an answer for Connecticut?  I'm glad I went to that board meeting and will go to more.  I should have gone a long time ago...but it's never too late!   Watch the 'Waiting for Superman' trailer then watch the documentary!!

Blackboard Rows

Blackboard Rows, a photo by amanda-esque on Flickr.

I Wasn't Planning on the Toilet Overflowing!

I really was thinking that today I would write about attending a Board of Education meeting for the first time. Honestly.  That was not to be.  Today, after shopping for shoes and clothes for my sons and having lunch with my 17 year old, I returned home and had to deal with an overflowing toilet.  This is one thing that unites us all!  We all become great believers in the almighty, don't we?  As we watch the water in that bowl continue to rise we call out to God like never before!! 

Anyway, here it is after 5 in the evening and we are still down one toilet because I am waiting for Super...no, my husband to return from work.  Of course, when I called him to report the 'incident' he told me he would fix it when he got home and that I just had to clean everything up.  Are you kidding me?  So. That's what I've been doing.  This has been a disgusting afternoon.  But the reality is that one year ago today I would have traded anything to have an overflowing toilet instead of facing my husband's cancer treatment.  All things considered...not such a bad day!

A Work In Progress!

Hello Again! This blog is a true work in progress. I began thinking about writing a blog about two years ago right around the time I discovered twitter.  What I didn't know then was that life was going to change for our family in a very big way.  But that's over now and maybe over the next few months I'll share more about how to survive the hard stuff and maybe live while the surviving is going on.

I'm going to take a suggestion from Geoff Fox and make it a discipline to write every day.  If you don't follow his blog, you should. Check out his site at geofffox.com - It's funny, smart and always interesting.  I've got a long way to go but I believe the journey should be well...like a super long car trip!  As many of you know from my twitter posts my husband and I are parents to two grown boys that provide us with endless opportunities to sharpen our parenting skills!  I love talking with young parents (visit coollegumes.com ) and listening to their stories as they begin to parent.  What I and others my age now know is that the parenting just doesn't end.  It grows, evolves and sometimes overtakes you but it's always rewarding. Really.

This will be a good week to begin as I sharpen the direction of the blog and make it just a little less 'sloppy' while I'm home during Spring break.  I was looking forward to spending the week catching up on reading and the laundry (who am I kidding) but this will be a fun challenge.  Look for additional pages and if I can figure out the photo thing I've got some awesome historical photos to add. 

Oh, a note about the title to the blog, besides the alliteration I felt that 'realities' describes the truth of life and maybe (just maybe) not our wished for life!  The reality is that the life that's true is authentically yours.